The Ministry Yule Ball
by Kokoro893
Summary: Fleur/Bill, Draco/Harry and Hermione/Lucius attend the annual Ministry Yule Ball.
1. Fleur and Bill

The Golden Snitch

Mahoutokoro, Kaze

The Yule Ball

Fleur Delacour, jealousy (emotion)

* * *

**The Ministry Yule Ball**

**Fleur and Bill**

The beautiful Veela had been waiting for this day for weeks. It was probably silly but her life was so dull since she had Victoire. The days were long and she often felt trapped at home. Every day was a struggle to care for the baby and try to keep the house in an acceptable condition. All she ever did was cooking and cleaning and changing diapers.

Impatiently she would pace through the small cottage waiting for her husband to come home. Not long after their daughter was born Bill decided to return to his old field of work. Working as a curse breaker abroad may have been dangerous but it was also much better paid and every knuckle counted, his family was poor and they had to repay the loan for the cottage. He left the young French alone at home for weeks on end worrying about his well-being.

Bill returned from work the day before. He spent the last five weeks in Mexico tracing ancient Maya artifacts for Gringott´s. She was happy to finally have her husband back but he was tired and only had eyes for their daughter.

The young Veela stood in front of the small bathroom-mirror getting ready for the Ministry Yule Ball. While her kind was naturally blessed with beauty she was worn out and had to compete with another, much younger Veela. She took her time doing her hair placing little golden butterfly pins inside. It was rare to have a moment for herself. They put on their dress-robes and flooed to the Burrow to leave Victoire in her grandparents´hands.

"´Arry, where iz your stunning boyfriend?" she asked the young wizard kissing his cheeks.

The war-hero blushed and played with his black bow-tie. Molly glared at her daughter-in-law, they didn´t talk about his '_better' _half. The French witch didn´t understand the animosity between the Weasleys and the Malfoys. Harry continued to wait nervously for his boyfriend while Bill and Fleur had already grabbed a handful of Floo-powder.

They were just about to leave when they heard a high-pitched cough. No, this can´t be happening. Not tonight. The young witch had been looking forward to this evening for so long. She was about to go full-veela but that wouldn´t help against viral infections. She wanted to have a breakdown and cry instead she rushed to Victoire to check on her little baby.

The family gathered around the little girl fussing over her. No one came by when she was under the weather. They should probably stay at home but Molly insisted that they go to the ball. She had raised seven children and knew what to do when a little one was coughing a bit.

Reluctantly Bill and Fleur left the Burrow. At the beginning the young Veela had a hard time enjoying the festivities, her thoughts were occupied by her daughter. She just wanted to have her husband's undivided attention again. She knew married Veela weren´t as irresistible as unwedded ones were but she still wanted to be noticed.

She danced with Harry and Draco and for a brief moment and escaped the dullness of motherhood. Not two hours after arriving she became uneasy. Her daughter was sick. She wanted to check on her but she also didn´t want to drag her husband away from his family since they hadn´t seen each other in such a long time.

Eventually, it was Bill who suggested returning home. Fleur hated that he would be rather at home watching their daughter sleep then dancing with her. But since she was desperate to see how her little one was doing herself she didn´t protest.

"Already back?" Molly asked her son. "Victoire is such a sweetheart," she added.

Her husband and in-laws watched her sleep. She stood a little behind them. A single tear ran down her cheek. She sighed when Molly finally left the small nursery that was once Percy´s room. Arthur and Bill chatted. They didn´t even notice her like she was invisible.

"She´s so cute, I just wish I had more time with my wife," her husband told his father.

The young family took the fireplace home to Shell Cottage. Fleur watched him tuck their little one in. Before she could undress he took her hand and began dancing with her in the small living area. They were barefoot and no music was playing yet it was perfect.

It started snowing and the moonlight was reflected by the ornaments hanging on the small Christmas tree. They kissed and Fleur felt butterflies in her stomach. Falling asleep next to Bill she was grateful for the wonderful evening. It was more than she had hoped for.


	2. Draco and Harry

The Golden Snitch

Mahoutokoro, Kaze

The Yule Ball

Draco Malfoy, Ministry of Magic (location)

* * *

**The Ministry Yule Ball**

**Draco and Harry**

Draco watched his father fuss over his attire. The man was behaving worse than a teenager.

"You know, your new witch won´t care about your tie."

"You are not helping, son. Should you not get dressed as well? I am certain Mr. Potter does not appreciate waiting."

"Nah, watching you is more fun. If you want to please her you might want to wear this," Draco said throwing a red thong with golden lace applications at his father.

He watched the older wizard close his eyes and inhale through his closed teeth. He unbuckled his belt and showed his old fashioned father his meager underwear. He knew when he bought the set that his father probably wasn´t going to wear it but he found the image amusing.

The young wizard knew the older wizard was at least a little jealous of his young, perfect, well-trained body. Showing the Malfoy-patriarch his thong he paraded through his father´s generous room. From the corner of his eyes, he saw him bury his face in his palms. Draco knew he shouldn´t enjoy provoking his father that much. The older wizard went back to considering a tie and a pocket square.

"If you want to make a statement for the press, I might have something for you," the young blonde said handing his father a navy-blue box.

Inside was a dark red tie and a matching satin pocket square.

"I bribed Madam Malkin. It`s from the same fabric her dress was made out of. I hope you like it because you´re not getting anything else for Yule, except for a son-in-law, maybe," Draco said before apparating away in a hurry since he was a little late.

Standing in front of the Burrow he took a deep breath. Every time he was there, looking over the crooked building, he hoped it would be the last time. The young Malfoy greeted Mrs. Weasley politely and followed her inside.

"What took you so long?" Harry asked annoyed.

"Sorry love, I just had to annoy my father. He needed help getting dressed. I´ll tell you the story later. It´s hilarious," the Slytherin explained.

"Lucius is coming?" Arthur asked.

"Thank Merlin, we´re on diaper duty," Molly said, "I don´t want a repeat of Flourish and Bott´s."

"Is he attending alone?" Arthur asked.

"He, hmm, he has a date," the young war-hero said blushing.

"We should go," Draco said placing his arm around his boyfriend´s waist.

Having started dating shortly after the war and after his mother left England for good, their arriving at the Ministry of Magic together was hardly a surprise. This didn´t stop people from gossiping, however. As long as they weren´t married yet, they remained the two most sought after bachelors in the wizarding world. Harry because he was Harry Potter and Draco because for some reason his father was yet to disown him and having a bad-boy image only increased his attractiveness.

They strolled hand in hand through the Ministry making their way to the ballroom. The building was beautifully decorated. Little trees with glass ornaments and fairy dust were placed in every corner, the ceiling was charmed to show the clear night sky and while it wasn´t actually cold it snowed inside. It wasn´t much, just enough to cover the entrance hall and the ballroom with a thin layer that made it look like it was powdered-sugar.

Draco carefully removed the glasses from Harry´s nose. "Allow me." He dragged the raven-haired wizard on the dancefloor. He knew his boyfriend was far from a good dancer but this was the Ministry´s yule ball and they just had to dance, at least once.

"Malfoy, I can´t see a thing," the war-hero protested.

"Trust me. Just follow my lead."

The enchanted instruments played a slow song. Draco placed his hands just above his boyfriend´s well-shaped butt. He pressed him against his body. He felt Harry´s head resting on his upper chest and inhaled his sweet fruity scent. He guided him confidently over the dancefloor. Even after the music stopped playing they remained entwined.

They mingled and danced with different partners as well. When it was his turn with Granger she complained loudly about Harry´s stepping onto her feet. He had to promise her that he was a much better dancer then his boyfriend and she threatened to turn him back into a ferret if he failed to live up to that.

He handed her to Bill Weasley and had a dance with his Veela-wife before rejoining Harry. Tired of dancing the young wizard dragged him out of the ballroom. The war-hero spent a lot of time in the Ministry and lead him to a vacant corridor. To snog properly. Their kisses were heated and they only separated to breath.

"I´ve got something for you," Draco hissed.

"Really Malfoy? This isn´t the right time to propose to me."

"I wasn´t. I was talking about my underwear," the blonde wizard said dragging him to the apparation-point.

"My place," the Malfoy-heir insisted doing things with his hands he knew would leave Harry unable to think straight. "Boxing day at my place," he repeated.

Knowing his little lion loved Christmas he decided it was the perfect time to propose to his boyfriend.

"Hermione spends Christmas Eve with her parents and I had planned on spending boxing day at the Burrow together..."

"You can spend Christmas Eve at the Burrow," Draco decided, chewing on Harry´s ear making it impossible for the young war-hero to decline.


	3. Hermione and Lucius

The Golden Snitch

Mahoutokoro, Kaze

The Yule Ball

Hermione Granger, dark red (color)

* * *

**The Ministry Yule Ball**

**Hermione and Lucius**

Hermione was sitting in her small room nervously preparing for the ball. She knew she would be at the center of attention and that the press wouldn´t be nice to her. The young witch was glad that Ginny helped her to get ready since she had very little experience with make-up and glamours. She didn´t quite understand what George was doing here as well.

She showed the two Weasley´s the long dark red dress she purchased. The tight satin gown highlighted her womanly curves. She felt strong and pretty in it and her friends' compliments eased her nerves a little.

"How come neither of you has a date to the Ball?" the bushy-haired witch asked her friends while Ginny tried to pin her impossible hair up so it wouldn´t obstruct the view of her exposed back.

"I go with Ginny," the one-eared Weasley said.

"You attend a ball with your sister?"

"I was in Russia for a match just a few weeks ago, they have a saying: To go to Tula with your own Samovar."

"What?" Hermione asked confused.

"What I´m trying to say is that I won´t bring a date to the ball because I go there in the hopes of meeting someone," Ginny explained.

"We just want to get laid," George added. Making Hermione roll her eyes.

The preparations went well, at least until Ginny had trouble finding lipstick and nail polish in just the right shade of dark red in her beauty-case. The older witch was close to having a panic attack while Ginny dug through her make-up collection.

"The old man won´t care about the color of your lipstick. He probably doesn´t care about the Yule Ball either as long as you spread your legs," the young wizard said.

However, this did not actually help to make her feel any better she sent a wandless stinging-hex in his direction for being vulgar. The red-haired witch managed to find the right color just as the doorbell rang. Once her make-up was finished they told her how great she looked and threw her out of her own room.

She took a deep breath and slowly walked downstairs, careful not to triple over her long dark-red dress or stumble over her ridiculously high heels. He stood there waiting patiently for her to make it safely down.

"You look ravishing," he said and Hermione felt her cheeks grow hot.

The beautiful wizard closed the gap between them and kissed her hand. The heat spread from her face to her chest. Her mouth was dry and the young witch lost the ability to speak a coherent sentence.

"I have got something for you," he said removing a little black box from his robes. He opened it and removed a thin silver snake with ruby eyes from it. The goblin-made jewelry was enchanted to act like a real snake. She watched it move through his elegant fingers.

He brought it up to her neck and the delicate snake gorged around her neck. There was something erotic about the feeling of cold metal on her bare heated skin. Shivers wandered through her spine. Hermione didn´t want the moment to end but loud giggles echoed through the house.

Embarrassed she placed her forehead on his shoulder hiding her face. She now knew why she should have gotten herself her own flat.

"I expect her home at 10 pm."

"Dad!" Hermione shrieked.

The older wizard looked at the young witch with a crooked eyebrow.

"He´s just being embarrassing. Lucius, believe me, I have no intentions of returning home tonight. In fact, I don´t have plans until Christmas Eve..." she whispered into his ears suggestively.

He smiled at her. "We should go," the dark wizard said apparating them away before her friends and family could make the situation even more awkward.

They paused before entering the ballroom. She chewed in her lips and her fingers played with his dark red tie. It might be silly but it meant the world to her that he chooses to wear a tie that matched her dress.

While she had told her closest friends and family that she was seeing the elder Malfoy, their relationship was not known to the public, until now. She took a deep breath and Lucius placed his hand on her back. She smiled at the older wizard and lifted her chin. She was now ready to face the world.

Almost instantly all eyes were on them. Hermione could hear the nasty headlines in her mind but before she panicked he dragged her to the dancefloor. She adored his ability to remain calm even under pressure and quickly lost herself in his ice-blue eyes. The young witch felt safe and protected in his strong arms. Dancing with him felt like second nature to her.

The bigger was the difference between Lucius dancing and Harry´s constant stepping on her feet. The fact that her best friend´s thoughts were elsewhere didn´t help either. He showed her discreetly the ring his father used to propose to his mother. Hermione immediately understood. She hugged the raven-haired wizard and congratulated him.

Everyone told her how beautiful she looked in red and Hermione couldn´t help but smile. This was her night she was glad she finally let the entire world know there was a very special wizard in her life. The evening drew to a close. She had one last dance with the former death eater before he took her home to his bed. It pleased her to know that everybody knew with whom she spends her nights.


End file.
